Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury
CFDA No.: 14.218
Federal Program: Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants
Federal Award Year: 2023
Control Category: Allowable Costs
Questioned Costs: $2,316
Condition
The City charged CDBG payroll expenses to the program based a timesheet allocation and did not adjust the charges to reconcile to actual time incurred per employee timesheets.
Criteria
2 CFR 200.430(i), Standards for Documentation of Personnel Expenses, states, in part:
“Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed…”
Charges must “support the distribution of the employee's salary or wages among specific activities or cost objectives if the employee works on more than one Federal award;…”
And “budget estimates (i.e., estimates determined before the services are performed) alone do not qualify as support for charges to Federal awards.”
Cause
The City's payroll system charges time for employees each pay period based on an allocation rather than actual hours documented on the employee’s timesheet.
Effect
Payroll costs charged to the program were greater than amounts supported by the documentation.
Questioned Costs
There were questioned costs in the amount of $2,316.
Recommendation
We recommend that the City charge time to the program based on actual hours worked per the employees' timesheets.
Management’s Response Regarding Corrective Action Taken or Planned
Management acknowledges the importance of ensuring that payroll costs charged to the program are consistent between the payroll system and the employee’s timesheet. The City continues to monitor its internal control process to ensure thorough review procedures are being followed. Timesheets are reviewed, bi-weekly, by payroll and adjusted to reflect actual hours as they relate to a specific activity. The City was able to hire a permanent accountant hiring who will provide additional oversight of these processes ensuring that hours worked are both reported correctly on the timesheets and are following the funding allocations that are approved by the grant.
Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
CFDA No.: 14.218
Federal Program: Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants
Federal Award Year: 2023
Control Category: Reporting
Questioned Costs: $0
Condition
For the Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants program, the City did not submit the following reports within the required deadline:
Report Type Reporting Period
(End Date) Report Submission Deadline Report Submission Date
SF-425 Federal Financial Report September 30, 2022 October 30, 2022 March 7, 2023
SF-425 Federal Financial Report December 31, 2022 January 30, 2023 March 7, 2023
SF-425 Federal Financial Report March 31, 2023 April 30, 2023 May 3, 2023
Criteria
Pursuant to the Part 4 CDBG – Entitlement Grants Cluster and financial and performance reporting requirements in the cooperative agreement provisions, and 2 CFR 200.327:
SF-425 Federal Financial Report: Program award recipients must submit SF 425 reports to HUD quarterly, 30 days after the reporting period end date. Each report must cover all expenditures on the cooperative agreement from the start date of the reporting period to the reporting period end date. The following federal fiscal year quarter reporting period will be used for all quarterly reports, are due to HUD 30 days after the period end dates.
Cause
The City did not have internal controls in place to ensure that financial and performance reports are filed timely.
Effect
Delay in filing the reports resulted in non-compliance with the compliance requirements.
Questioned Costs
There were no questioned costs.
Recommendation
We recommend that the City strengthen internal controls by implementing procedures to ensure the timely filing of financial and performance reports.
Management’s Response Regarding Corrective Action Taken or Planned
Management agrees with the finding. In 2023, shortly after management was made aware procedures were put into place to properly oversee the timely submission of the SF-425 financial reports.
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury
CFDA No.: 14.218
Federal Program: Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants
Federal Award Year: 2023
Control Category: Allowable Costs
Questioned Costs: $2,316
Condition
The City charged CDBG payroll expenses to the program based a timesheet allocation and did not adjust the charges to reconcile to actual time incurred per employee timesheets.
Criteria
2 CFR 200.430(i), Standards for Documentation of Personnel Expenses, states, in part:
“Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed…”
Charges must “support the distribution of the employee's salary or wages among specific activities or cost objectives if the employee works on more than one Federal award;…”
And “budget estimates (i.e., estimates determined before the services are performed) alone do not qualify as support for charges to Federal awards.”
Cause
The City's payroll system charges time for employees each pay period based on an allocation rather than actual hours documented on the employee’s timesheet.
Effect
Payroll costs charged to the program were greater than amounts supported by the documentation.
Questioned Costs
There were questioned costs in the amount of $2,316.
Recommendation
We recommend that the City charge time to the program based on actual hours worked per the employees' timesheets.
Management’s Response Regarding Corrective Action Taken or Planned
Management acknowledges the importance of ensuring that payroll costs charged to the program are consistent between the payroll system and the employee’s timesheet. The City continues to monitor its internal control process to ensure thorough review procedures are being followed. Timesheets are reviewed, bi-weekly, by payroll and adjusted to reflect actual hours as they relate to a specific activity. The City was able to hire a permanent accountant hiring who will provide additional oversight of these processes ensuring that hours worked are both reported correctly on the timesheets and are following the funding allocations that are approved by the grant.
Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
CFDA No.: 14.218
Federal Program: Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants
Federal Award Year: 2023
Control Category: Reporting
Questioned Costs: $0
Condition
For the Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants program, the City did not submit the following reports within the required deadline:
Report Type Reporting Period
(End Date) Report Submission Deadline Report Submission Date
SF-425 Federal Financial Report September 30, 2022 October 30, 2022 March 7, 2023
SF-425 Federal Financial Report December 31, 2022 January 30, 2023 March 7, 2023
SF-425 Federal Financial Report March 31, 2023 April 30, 2023 May 3, 2023
Criteria
Pursuant to the Part 4 CDBG – Entitlement Grants Cluster and financial and performance reporting requirements in the cooperative agreement provisions, and 2 CFR 200.327:
SF-425 Federal Financial Report: Program award recipients must submit SF 425 reports to HUD quarterly, 30 days after the reporting period end date. Each report must cover all expenditures on the cooperative agreement from the start date of the reporting period to the reporting period end date. The following federal fiscal year quarter reporting period will be used for all quarterly reports, are due to HUD 30 days after the period end dates.
Cause
The City did not have internal controls in place to ensure that financial and performance reports are filed timely.
Effect
Delay in filing the reports resulted in non-compliance with the compliance requirements.
Questioned Costs
There were no questioned costs.
Recommendation
We recommend that the City strengthen internal controls by implementing procedures to ensure the timely filing of financial and performance reports.
Management’s Response Regarding Corrective Action Taken or Planned
Management agrees with the finding. In 2023, shortly after management was made aware procedures were put into place to properly oversee the timely submission of the SF-425 financial reports.